# APR Calculator

> Turn a loan’s interest rate and fees into an annual percentage rate (APR), with the monthly payment, total interest, finance charge and effective annual rate.

Category: Finance · Applies to: Worldwide · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/apr-calculator

APR is the yearly rate that makes your loan payments worth exactly the money you actually receive. Upfront fees reduce what you receive, so the APR comes out higher than the interest rate.

Also called: Annual percentage rate calculator.

## Inputs
- Loan amount (default 200000)
- Interest rate (per year) (unit %; default 6)
- Term (unit months; default 360)
- Fees paid upfront or deducted (default 4000; optional)
- Fees added to the loan (default 0; optional)
- Currency

## Results
- APR
- Monthly payment
- Total interest
- Total fees
- Finance charge (interest + fees)
- Effective annual rate

## Formula

```
Payment A = PMT(Loan + financed fees, rate ÷ 12, n);  find i with A × (1 − (1 + i)^−n) ÷ i = Loan − upfront fees;  APR = 12 × i
```

Where:
- A: level monthly payment
- n: number of monthly payments
- i: monthly rate found by search
- EAR: (1 + i)^12 − 1

## Worked example
1. Payment on $200,000 at 0.5% a month for 360 months = $1,199.10.
2. You receive 200,000 − 4,000 = $196,000.
3. Searching for the monthly rate at which 360 payments of $1,199.10 are worth $196,000 gives 0.51579%.
4. APR = 12 × 0.51579% = 6.189%.

**Result:** A 6% 30-year loan with $4,000 of upfront fees has an APR of about 6.19%.

## What the result means

Compare loans of the same length by APR rather than by interest rate: it puts fees and rate on one scale. Fees weigh more heavily on short loans, so a fee that adds 0.2 points to a 30-year APR can add a full point or more to a 3-year loan.

## Assumptions and limits
- Fixed rate and level monthly payments.
- All fees you enter count as finance charges.
- APR is quoted as 12 times the monthly rate (nominal), as in US Regulation Z and most loan disclosures.
- Which fees legally belong in APR differs by country and loan type; your lender’s disclosed APR may include or exclude items differently.
- Variable rates, irregular payment dates and odd first periods are not modelled.

## Questions

### Why is APR higher than the interest rate?

Because fees reduce the cash you actually get while the payments stay the same, so the effective cost per year is higher.

### What is the difference between APR and effective annual rate?

APR multiplies the monthly rate by 12. The effective annual rate compounds it: (1 + monthly rate)^12 − 1, which is slightly higher.

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_This calculator gives estimates for planning. It is not financial advice, and lenders’ actual terms, fees and rounding may differ._

Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/apr-calculator